Helicopter toy

ABSTRACT

A toy helicopter system that can be produced at low cost, and which enables remote control of the flight of a toy helicopter by tilting it. The system includes a housing designed to rest on the ground, and a modified parallelogram boom connecting the housing to the helicopter to control it and to guide a flexible shaft that drives the helicopter rotor from a motor in the housing. A child can make the helicopter fly forward or backward by operating an actuator that twists the boom to alter the pitch orientation of the helicopter so its rotor pulls it forward or backward. One of the arms of the boom is hollow and serves as a guide for a flexible shaft that extends from the housing to the helicopter rotor to drive it. The hollow arm is shorter than the other arm, and opposite ends of the hollow arm are connected by pivotally mounted links to the housing and helicopter, respectively, and the hollow arm is connected by slide connectors to the other arm.

United States Patent 1 1 Chang HELICOPTER TOY [4 June 19, 1973 PrimaryExaminer-Anton O. Oechsle Assistant Examiner-Arnold W. Kramer [75]Inventor: Richard S. Chang, Rolling Hills Attorney seymour A seholnickEstates, Calif.

[73] Assignee: Mattel, Inc., Hawthorne, Calif. 57 ABSTRACT [22] Filed:Dec. 16, 1971 A toy helicopter system that can be produced at low 7cost, and which enables remote control of the flight of [21] Appl. No.:208,572 a toy helicopter by tilting it. The system includes a housingdesigned to rest on the ground, and a modified parallelogram boomconnecting the housing to the heli- [52] U.S. Cl. 272/31 B opter tocontrol it and to guide a flexible shaft that [51] Int. Cl. A6311 27/12drives the helicopter rotor from a :motor in the housing. [58] Field OfSearch 2 31 30, A child can make the helicopter fly forward or backi 55ward by operating an actuator that twists the boom to alter the pitchorientation of the helicopter so its rotor [56] References Cited pullsit forward or backward. One of the arms of the UNITED STATES PATENTSboom is hollow and serves as a guide for a flexible shaft 3,022,0692/1962 Pettit 272 31 A that extends fmm the musing the heliccpter rotor3 3 3 110 1963 Brown n 272 31 B X drive it. The hollow arm is shorterthan the other arm, 2,067,828 1/1937 Christiansen 272/31 A and oppo te eds of the hollow arm are connected by 2,300,649 11/1942 Christiansen272/31 A pivotally mounted links to the housing and helicopter,2,216,899 /1940 Berger 272/31 A respectively, and the hollow arm isconnected by slide connectors to the other arm.

7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures L l 7} 46 J6 III I! M 22; r" 60 r 42 ,4 3 J3/I I x r J0 J6 gaf saa ij "2 a I "r 42 6 4 J? 10 71 a: a

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HELICOPTER TOY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates totoys and more particularly to remotely operated vehicle toys.

One type of flying toy helicopter flies at the outer end of a boom, theboom having an inner end mounted on a housing that is supported on theground or a tabletop. Inasmuch as as toy helicopters generally do nothave a tail rotor or other means for aerodynamically stabilizing themagainst tipping, a relatively rigid boom is generally utilized to keepthe helicopter upright. The helicopter can be made tofly in a circle byoperating a motor or hand crank that slowly rotates the boom about thehousing. However, this creates a somewhat artificial effect, inasmuch asreal helicopters generally change their direction of flight by tiltingthe entire helicopter so that the rotor tends to pull the craft in adesired direction as well as lifting it. If the direction of movement ofa toy helicopter could be controlled by such tilting while assuringstable operation, the realism and entertainment value of the toy couldbe appreciably enhanced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention, a toy apparatus is provided with can be mass producedat relatively low cost and which enables remote control of a flying toyhelicopter in a realistic manner. The apparatus includes a helicopterwith a rotor, a remote houming that can be supported on the ground or atabletop, and a boom connecting the housing to the helicopter. A motormounted in the housing is connected by a flexible shaft extending alongthe boom to the helicopter rotor to rotate it, so that the spinningrotor supports much of the weight of the helicopter. A bracket isrotatably mounted on the hosuing, and an inner end of the boom ismounted on the bracket so that the helicopter can fly in circles aboutthe housing. A child can control the flight of the helicopter to make itmove forward or backward around the circle or hover, by operating anactuator that twists the boom to thereby tilt the helicopter so itsspinning rotor urges it forward or backward. The boom is a largelyparallelogram type so that it maintains the helicopter upright againstbanking to the left or right while enabling the helicopter to rise orfall to different levels above the ground.

In order to simplify the apparatus, one of the arms of the boom ishollow, and the flexible shaft that connects the motor in the housing tothe helicopter rotor extends through the hollow arm. The sharpness ofbending of the flexible shaft, at any position of boom as it pivots upand down, is minimized by making the hollow arm of the boom shorter thanits other arm, and utilizing a pair of links to connect opposite ends ofthe hollow arm to the bracket and helicopter.

The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity inthe appended claims. The invention will be best understood from thefollowing description when read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawmgs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a toyaircraft system constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a view taken on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view taken on the line 33 of FIG. 2; and FIG. 4 is a partialperspective view of the joystick control mechanism of the system.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS I FIG. 1 illustrates a toyhelicopter system which includes a helicopter 10, a pylon control box 12which the helicopter can fly around, and a remote control box pylonhousing 12. A boom 18 extending from the pylon housing 12 to thehelicopter serves to maintain the helicopter substantially upright,while also serving to produce a controllable forward or rearward tilt tothe helicopter to make it move forward or backward. The boom 18 alseserves to transmit power from a motor in the pylon housing 12 to therotor 16 to drive it. The remote control box 14 has a joystick 20 thatcan be pivoted by a child to control the speed of the motor that drivesthe helicopterrotor to thereby cause the helicopter to rise or fall, andwhich also controls movement of the boom 18 that causes the helicopterto fly forward or backward. A coupling 22 connects the box 14 to thepylon 12, so that a child can control the helicopter from a positionoutside its circle of flight.

Referring also to FIGS. 2-4, the pylon 12 includes a housing 24, a motor26 mounted within the housing and a bracket 28 pivotally mounted on thehousing. The bracket 28 has a tubular lower portion 30 which extendsthrough a bearing hole 32 in the housing, so that the bracket rotatesabout an. axis that is vertical when the housing 24 is upright. The boom18 has two arms 34, 36 that extend parallel to one another. The firstarm 34 has an inner end pivotally mounJed at 38 on the bracket 28, andan outer end pivotally mounted at 40 on the helicopter on a fore-and-aftaxis. The second arm 36 is tubular and is shorter than the first arm sothat it does not extend completely between the bracket and helicopter. Apair of guides or arm connectors 42 and 44 hold the two arms 34, 36parallel to one another, each arm connector being fixed to the secondarm 36 and slideably engaged with the first arm 34. A single tube can beemployed instead of using two separate arm connectors. The armconnectors 42, 44 also serve to connect the second arm 36 to the bracketand helicopter, by means of a pair of links 46, 48. Each link 46, 48 hasone end pivotally connected to one of the arm connectors 42, 44 and anopposite end pivotally connected to the bracket 28 or the helicopter 10.This arrangement of arms, arm connectors, and links, serves largely as aparallelogram coupling that serves to maintain the helicopter 10substantially upright, particularly against banking to the left orright, so that the helicopter always appears substantially upright,regardless of elevation changes.

The motor 26in the pylon housing is connected to the rotor 16 by aflexible shaft 50. The flexible shaft 50 has an inner end connected by aconnector bushing 52 to the motorshaft 54, and has an outer endconnected to therotor by means of a nose 56 of the rotor. The shaft 50extends through the tubular arm 36 of the boom, and also extends throughflexible sheaths 58, 60 respectively positioned at the bracket 28 andhelicopter 10. The flexible shaft 50 also extends through the tubularportion 30 of the bracket. The motor 26 is positioned so that the axisof its shaft 54 is coincident with the axis of the bracket portion 30.

The construction of the system with the shaft 50 extending through theaxis of rotation of the bracket 28, enables unrestricted flying of thehelicopter in circles about the pylon 12. The use of a short, hollow arm36 in the boom enables the flexible shaft 50 to rotate withoutobstruction or sharp bending even when the boom is pivoted to a largeangle as indicated at 18A or to a small angle as indicated at 188. Inaddition, the tubular arm 36 of the boom is made to serve two purposes,as the arm of a modified parallelogram boom and as a sheath for theflexible shaft, thereby minimizing the cost of the toy. The uniquearrangement of links and guides allows the use of the short arm thatprovides a large region for bending of the flexible shaft, while alsomaking the boom arrangement function much like a parallelogram linkageto keep the helicopter substantially upright at all positions.

The mounting of the motor 26 remote from the helicopter reduces theweight of the helicopter and therefore the required rotor speed. Tofurther decrease the required speed of the rotor, a spring wire 59 isemployed that has an inner end captured at two points 60, 62 on thebracket and an opposite end held at 64 on the arm connector 42. Thespring 59 provides a lifting force to the boom that counteracts much ofthe weight of the helicopter. Accordingly, the helicopter rises off theground for even a low rotor speed. The spring 59 provides a decreasinglifting force as the boom is lifted so that the helicopter does notcontinuously climb at a constant rotor speed, but tends to maintain aparticular elevation which is increased or decreased as motor speed isincreased or decreased.

The boom 18 is mounted so that it can be twisted about an axis extendinglong its length, to tilt the helicopter in pitch, that is to tilt it sothat the rotor axis extends with a forward or rearward directionalcomponent instead of precisely vertically. The purpose of the tilting isto allow the rotor to pull the helicopter forward or rearwardly, so thatthe helicopter can be made 'to fly in a desired direction around theplyon 12, or can be made to hover. Twisting or turning of the boom aboutits length, is accomplished by an actuator 66. The actuator includes abell crank 68 pivotally mounted at 70 on the pylon housing 24. It alsoincludes a bushing 72 that can be made to slide up and down along thetubular portion 30 of the bracket 28, and a rod 74 (FIG. 3) that couplesthe bushing 72 to an end of the first arm 34 of the boom.

The inner end portion of the arm 34 of-the boom is bent at a rightangle, so that an arm portion 76 extends substantially perpendicular tothe rest of the arm. The bracket 28 has a bearing aperture 78 at thepivotal mounting point 38, that receives the arm at its bent portion.The aperture 78 is formed to pivotally mount the arm so that it canpivot about the horizontal axis 80 for raising and lowering the boom andabout a perpendicular axis 82 extending along the length of the arm. Therod 74 is pivotally connected to the arm portion 76, so that when therod pulls or pushes on the portion 76, it causes the arm to twist aboutthe axis 82, and yet the arm can freely pivot about the axis 80 as thehelicopter rises and falls. A spring 84 is provided whose end portions86 are fixed to the bracket 28 and whose center portion engages the armportion 76 to urge the arm 34 toward the position wherein the helicopteris oriented with its rotor axis, vertical, while allowing resilienttwisting of the boom to urge the helicopter to fly forward orrearwardly.

Operation of the actuator 66 is controlled by a link 88 (FIG. 2) whichcan pull or push on an end of the bell crank 68 to pivot it. The bellcrank engages pins 90 on the bushings 72 to raise and lower it so as tomove the rod 74 up and down to pivot the boom arm 76 and thereby twistthe boom arm 34. Movement of the link 88 is controlled by the joystick20 in the remote control box 14, as will be described below. The speedof the motor 26 can be controlled by another link 91 that extends alongthe coupling 22 and is operated by the joystick 20, as also will bedescribed below. The link 91 moves a wiper arm 92 of a potentiometerthat is connected in series with a battery 94 in the plyon and with themotor 26, to vary the electrical power supplied to the motor andtherefore its speed.

The joystick 20 moves the two links 88 and 91 that respectively controldirection of helicopter movement and speed of its rotor. As best shownin FIG. 4, the joystick is pivotally mounted about an axis 96 on ajoystick bracket 98, the joystick bracket 98 being pivotally mountedabout an axis 100 on a housing 102 of the control box. A lower endportion 104 of the joystick has a slot 106 which engages an end portion108 of the speed control link 91. When the joystick 20 is pivoted aboutthe axis 96 the end portion 104 thereof pulls or pushes the link 91 tomove the wiper arm of the rheostat in the pylon and change the motorspeed. The end portion 108 of the speed control link extendsperpendicular to about the other axis of pivoting 100 of the joystick,so that any pivoting of the joystick about the axis 100 does not affectthe position of the link 91 and therefore does not change the motorspeed. The joystick bracket 98 has an arm 110 fixed thereto andextending substantially radially therefrom with respect to the axis ofpivoting 100 of the joystick bracket. The arm 110 is received in a slot112 of a lever 114. The lever 114 is fixed to a shaft 116 that ispivotally mounted on the control box housing. Another lever 1 18 isfixed to the shaft 116 and has an end fixed to the direction controllink 88 that controls tilting of the helicopter for forward and rearwardmovement. When the joystick 20 is pivoted about the axis 100, thebracket 98 pivots, causing the levers 114 and 118 to pivot and causingthe link 88 to be pulled or pushed. Pivoting of the joystick 20 aboutthe axis 96 does not cause pivoting of the bracket 98, and thereforeshould have no effect on the direction of helicopter movement. It may benoted, however, that when more power is supplied to the motor, moretorque is also supplied through the flexible shaft to the helicopter,and this can cause twisting of the boom. The joystick construction canbe modified so that movements that adjust motor power also causecorrective twisting of the boom.

Thus, the invention provides a toy aircraft system particularly usefulin the case of a helicopter, which provides a relatively constantorientation of the helicopter while enabling controlled tilting in pitchso as to make the helicopter move forward or backward. This isaccomplished by the use of a parallelogram type boom and an actuator forcontrolled twisting of the boom. The rotor of the helicopter is drivenby a motor located in a housing that rests on the ground, and is coupledthereto by a flexible shaft. The boom is constructed to allow theflexible shaft to bend in a wide area as the boom moves up and down soas to avoid a sharp bend in the shaft, by utilizing a modifiedparallelogram boom arrangement. In this arrangement, one of the arms ofthe parallelogram is shortened and is hollow so that it forms a sheathfor the flexible shaft. Separate links are employed for substantiallypivotally connecting opposite ends of the shortened arm to a bracket onthe pylon housing and to the helicopter.

Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described andillustrated herein, it is recognized that modifications and variationsmay readily occur to those skilled in the art, and consequently, it isintended that the claims be interpreted to cover such modifications andequivalents.

What is claimed is:

l. A toy helicopter system comprising:

a helicopter having a rotor;

a housing which can be supported upright indeperu dently of saidhelicopter;

a bracket mounted on said housing for rotation about a substantiallyvertical first axis when said housing is upright;

an elongated boom having upper and lower elongated arms extendingsubstantially parallel to each other and being relatively movable in thedirection of their length;

coupling means pivotally coupling opposite ends of said arms to saidbracket and helicopter at vertically spaced points on each, to limitbanking of the helicopter;

motor means coupled to said helicopter rotor to drive it; one of saidarms being pivoted to said helicopter on a fore-and-aft axis only; and

operable means on said housing for twisting said one arm about an axisextending along its length, whereby to tilt said helicopter in pitch soits rotor has a selected forward or rearward inclination to fly saidhelicopter in a chosen direction about said housing.

2. The toy helicopter system described in claim 1 wherein:

said coupling means includes a pair of arm connectors mounted atopposite end portions of said boom, each arm connector slideably engagedwith one of said arms and fixed to the other arm, means pivotallyconnecting opposite ends of said one arm respectively to said bracketand helicopter, and a pair of link means, each link means having one endpivotally connected to a different one of said connectors and anopposite end respectively pivotally connected to said bracket andhelicopter.

3. The toy helicopter described in claim 2 wherein:

said other arm of said boom is hollow; and

said motor means includes a motor mounted on said housing and a flexibleshaft extending through said hollow arm and having opposite ends coupledto said motor and rotor.

4. The toy helicopter system described in claim 3 wherein:

said bracket has means defining a bearing engaged with a first end ofsaid one arm for enabling twisting of said end about a first axisextending along the length of the arm as well as pivoting about an axiswhich is substantially horizontal and angled from said first axis; and isaid means for twisting said arm. includes an acitvator mounted for upand down movement and connected to a location on said first armlaterally spaced from the location thereon which is pivotally mounted onsaid bracket, for twisting said first arm about its length.

5. The toy helicopter system described in claim 1 wherein:

said operable means includes a bushing mounted on said bracket coaxialwith said first axis to enable up and down sliding of said bushing onsaid bracket, linking means coupling said bushing to said one arm totwist it in accordance with the sliding movement of said bushing, and amanually controlled member mounted on said housing and coupled to saidbushing to slide it up and down.

6. A toy aircraft system comprising:

an aircraft with a rotably mounted airscrew member for driving itthrough the air;

a housing for support independently of said aircraft;

an elongated first arm having first and second end portions, saidfirstend portion pivotally coupled to said aircraft;

means pivotally coupling said second end portion of said first arm tosaid housing;

a second elongated arm extending parallel to said first arm, said secondarm being tubular;

arm connector means fixed to one of said arms and slideably engaged withthe other arm;

first and second links, each having a first end coupled to said armconnector means;

means coupling a second end of said first link to said housing;

means coupling a second end of said second link to said aircraft;

a motor mounted on said housing; and

elongated flexible shaft means extending through said tubular second armand having opposite ends respectively connected to said. motor andairscrew member.

7. The toy aircraft system descibed in claim 6 wherein:

said means pivotally coupling said second end portion of said first armto said housing includes a bracket mounted on said housing for rotationthereon about a substantially vertical axis when said housing issupported on :a level surface, said bracket having a bearing thatsupports said end portion of said first arm for pivoting about ahorizontal axis and twisting about an axis parallel to its length;

said means coupling said second end of said first link to said housingincludes means on said bracket pivotally supporting said second end ofsaid first link; and including an actuator having manually operablemeans coupled to said second end portion of said first arm for twistingit, whereby to control tilt of said aircraft in pitch.

1. A toy helicopter system comprising: a helicopter having a rotor; ahousing which can be supported upright independently of said helicopter;a bracket mounted on said housing for rotation about a substantiallyvertical first axis when said housing is upright; an elongated boomhaving upper and lower elongated arms extending substantially parallelto each other and being relatively movable in the direction of theirlength; coupling means pivotally coupling opposite ends of said arms tosaid bracket and helicopter at vertically spaced points on each, tolimit banking of the helicopter; motor means coupled to said helicopterrotor to drive it; one of said arms being pivoted to said helicopter ona fore-andaft axis only; and operable means on said housing for twistingsaid one arm about an axis extending along its length, whereby to tiltsaid helicopter in pitch so its rotor has a selected forward or rearwardinclination to fly said helicopter in a chosen direction about saidhousing.
 2. The toy helicopter system described in claim 1 wherein: saidcoupling means includes a pair of arm connectors mounted at opposite endportions of said boom, each arm connector slideably engaged with one ofsaid arms and fixed to the other arm, means pivotally connectingopposite ends of said one arm respectively to said bracket andhelicopter, and a pair of link means, each link means having one endpivotally connected to a different one of said connectors and anopposite end respectively pivotally connected to said bracket andhelicopter.
 3. The toy helicopter described in claim 2 wherein: saidother arm of said boom is hollow; and said motor means includes a motormounted on said housing and a flexible shaft extending through saidhollow arm and having opposite ends coupled to said motor and rotor. 4.The toy helicopter system described in claim 3 wherein: said bracket hasmeans defining a bearing engaged with a first end of said one arm forenabling twisting of said end about a first axis extending along thelength of the arm as well as pivoting about an axis which issubstantially horizontal and angled from said first axis; and said meansfor twisting said arm includes an acitvator mounted for up and downmovement and connected to a location on said first arm laterally spacedfrom the location thereon which is pivotally mounted on said bracket,for twisting said first arm about its length.
 5. The toy helicoptersystem described in claim 1 wherein: said operable means includes abushing mounted on said bracket coaxial with said first axis to enableup and down sliding of said bushing on said bracket, linking meanscoupling said bushing to said one arm to twist it in accordance with thesliding movement of said bushing, and a manually controlled membermounted on said housing and coupled to said bushing to slide it up anddown.
 6. A toy aircraft system comprising: an aircraft with a rotablymounted airscrew member for driving it through the air; a housing forsupport independently of said aircraft; an elongated first arm havingfirst and second end portions, said first end portion pivotally coupledto said aircraft; means pivotally coupling said second end portion ofsaid first arm to said housing; a second elongated arm extendingparallel to said first arm, said second arm being tubular; arm connectormeans fixed to one of said arms and slideably engaged with the otherarm; first and second links, each having a first end coupled to said armconnector means; means coupling a second end of said first link to saidhousing; means coupling a second end of said second link to saidaircraft; a motor mounted on said housing; and elongated flexible shaftmEans extending through said tubular second arm and having opposite endsrespectively connected to said motor and airscrew member.
 7. The toyaircraft system descibed in claim 6 wherein: said means pivotallycoupling said second end portion of said first arm to said housingincludes a bracket mounted on said housing for rotation thereon about asubstantially vertical axis when said housing is supported on a levelsurface, said bracket having a bearing that supports said end portion ofsaid first arm for pivoting about a horizontal axis and twisting aboutan axis parallel to its length; said means coupling said second end ofsaid first link to said housing includes means on said bracket pivotallysupporting said second end of said first link; and including an actuatorhaving manually operable means coupled to said second end portion ofsaid first arm for twisting it, whereby to control tilt of said aircraftin pitch.